Home Secretary Theresa May fuelled rumours that she is positioning for a post-Cameron era over the weekend by delivering a speech that ranged far beyond her brief.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has also taken negotiations over the 2015-16 spending review public by calling for deeper cuts to welfare.

Home Secretary Theresa May. Credit: Press Association.

They were also told to stress that the next election would be a choice between having Mr Cameron or Ed Miliband in Downing Street.

Most of the interventions at the private meeting were said to be positive and supportive of the leadership.

However, Totnes MP Sarah Wollaston apparently pointed out that Mr Crosby's call for discipline had been leaked to the media beforehand - asking whether the rules applied equally to the top of the party.

Others complained that Cabinet ministers did not seem to be bound by the same restrictions, while Keighly MP Kris Hopkins reportedly criticised "self indulgent buffoons" touting themselves as alternative leaders.